SQUIDFRY 11.02.17: P.G. Duel

P.G. DUEL… The clock is ticking down to when recreational cannabis is legal in California on Jan. 1, 2018. Local cities are racing to enact bans on dispensaries, delivery services, commercial cultivation and other cannabis-related businesses before the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve.

Pacific Grove was lagging behind, but played catch-up on Oct. 25, with a public workshop on the topic. Several residents argued the city should extend its ban on medical marijuana businesses to include recreational pot. Only one speaker was in support of legal weed. She grew up in P.G. when alcohol was still illegal – a holdover from its dry Methodist camp beginnings – and said that didn’t stop anyone in high school from finding booze. She wanted to see P.G. benefit from cannabis tax revenue.

Then City Councilman Ken Cuneo raised an objection to cannabusinesses springing up. Because it’s still a cash business (Squid can’t wait for the feds to get on board and let banks get involved), dispensary owners will need armed security or even their own firearms, Cuneo noted. The result, he reasoned: potentially a raucous shootout.

To which Squid says, dude, you’re harshing Squid’s mellow. Squid knows a cure for that, but will have to head out of town.

LIVING COLOR… In years past, Squid has written about Monterey’s obsession with beige – you can even pick up a “Monterey beige” carpet at Home Depot – and how the city could use some more vibrant splashes of color. And that splash arrived earlier this week, when the city lit up Colton Hall in a spooky orange.

Monterey Assistant City Manager Hans Uslar tipped off Squid’s colleagues to the lighting in an email, which he finished with “#NOTBEIGE!” And Squid was happy to see that while Squid didn’t get festive for the holiday tradition this year, the city of Monterey went all in. On the city’s Twitter feed, Squid noted that even a public safety announcement aimed at drivers embraced the spooky spirit: “Take extra time to look for any ghosts, princesses, ninjas and pirates at intersections, on medians and on curbs.” City departments also participate in an annual costume contest where each department picks a theme. The Twitter feed included a picture of Monterey Planning Department – Squid’s told they’ve won three of the last four years – dressed as characters from Super Mario Bros. The planners, however, faced stiff competition from the Public Works Department, who put on a performance at City Hall that mimicked the recent solar eclipse: Different employees dressed up as the sun, the moon and some clouds, while another dressed up in a suit and, according to Uslar, “a very, very long tie.” As the moon crossed over the sun, Uslar says, the employee in the suit stared straight at the sun.

It all sounds very… orange.